it's my brother, my blood. i want to see justice. >> michael didn't want to die. he just wanted to sleep. >> he was sobbing on the phone. sobbing. he says, i've lost my best friend. >> now it's for a jury to decide. who is to blame for the death of michael jackson? >> this is bizarre, unethical, unconscionable behavior. if it were anybody else, anybody else, would this doctor be here today? >> tonight, as the jurors deliberate, new information from dr. conrad murray's closest colleagues. >> dr. murray did not know this man was an addict when with he

took the job. >> and new details from a family seeking justice. >> he was laying there on this gurney so emotional ato see your brother lifeless. >> what really happened in those final moments. inside "the last days of michael jackson." good evening and welcome to "dateline." i'm lester holt. it was a marathon of a trial, filled with dramatic moments. we heard michael jackson's troubled voice speaking from beyond the grave. we also heard the anxious voice of a doctor accused. but it's the collective voice of the jury that may soon provide the most dramatic moment of all. here is josh mankiewicz. >> my brother, the legendary king of pop, michael jackson palaced ed passed away thursday, june 25, 2009, at 2:56 p.m. >> in those first moments, the story was stunning.

michael jackson was dead. but, even as his brother jermaine announced the news, in the same breath another story line began to emerge. >> his personal physician who was with him at the time attempted to resuscitate my brother. >> almost 2 1/2 years later, that physician, dr. conrad murray, is accused of involuntary manslaughter in the death of michael jackson. the case has gone to the jury and the tabloid circus that has always drawn its fuel from the trials of michael jackson is waiting for the verdict. how did twomen, one perhaps the most famous person in the world, the other an unknowned cardiologist end up on a collision course? tonight, you'll hear from a confident dr. murray trying to explain his actions to police. >> basically, i would pust in an i.v.

>> for -- for hydration or -- >> hydration as well. because you know he when he exercises he loses a lot of water. >> and from michael jackson trying to make his dreams clear to dr. murray. >> god wants me to it do it. >> you'll hear court testimony. >> he sat down. he left. but when he returned he saw that the patient was not breathing. >> and you'll see interviews the jury never saw. >> to see your brother lifeless, and i noticed his body was just dead. i just told him i love him and i'm going to miss him a lot. >> with all of it, we can now paint the fullest portrait yet of "the last days of michael jackson." it was the spring of 2009, and michael jackson delighted his fans by announcing he was going to perform again. >> "this is it." i mean, this is really it.

this is the final -- this is the final final curtain call. >> 50 nights in london were scheduled, date that's sold out almost at once. it was to be a brutal schedule for a 50-year-old man who hadn't performed live in 12 years. jackson had been all but invisible since his 2005 molestation trial. he was acquitted of the charges, but that trial had taken a toll on the singer, leaving him disspirited and without a fixed address. he left his beloved neverland ranch. he had frittered away much of his fortd tuned and was relying on the kindness of strangers, moving around the world like a nomad, taking his kids from california to the middle east to ireland to l vegas. he was said to be tired of being a vagabond and wanted a settled home for his three children. this concert series called "this

is it" promised to both pay for that new life and simultaneously resurrect jackson's image as a superstar of entertainment. jermaine jackson says that, for his brother, "this is it" was just the beginning. >> he was looking forward to the show. he just put a down payment on the home in vegas. he had a five-year plan after "this is it". >> concert promoter aeg wanted a doctor to be with jackson on the tour. jackson agreed, asking that the job go to a well-liked but not well-known las vegas cardiologist, conrad murray. the two had met in 2006 when jackson's daughter had the flu and the doctor made a vegas house call. it's unclear just why jackson was enamored of murray, but clearly the singer trusted him and, in jackson's world, that couldn'ted for a lot. for his part, murray was clearly thrilled at the prospect of working with the star. his office manager stacy ruggles

tells "dateline" she remembers talking to her boss about the job offer. >> he says, i have an opportunity to work with someone who's very, very famous. it would only be for approximately a six-month period of time. >> murray and aeg started salary negotiations, which ended with murray agreeing to be paid $150,000 a month to look after the embodiment of aeg's investment. dr. murray was excited about working for michael jack soon. >> he was. he was very excited. >> it's impossible to know if it was the fame or the money that attracted dr. murray. like jackson, murray was under financial pressure, too. at the time, he was in default on his mortgage. he also had other significant obligations. how many children does dr. murray have? >> i believe six? >> by several different women. >> might be eight. >> might be eight. >> yes. a cull

couple of them are from the same person. >> even so, ruggles, a staunch supporter of dr. murray, believes it wasn't the salary offer that closed the deal. does it not seem plausible that the paycheck he would have been getting from this tour with mike along jackson might have seemed attractive to him because he had so many mouths to feed and so much child support to pay? >> he is not the kind of perp that -- person that looks at money and says, let me go for it that money. no. >> whatever the reason, murray's work with jackson started right away. at the time, the singer had moved into a lavish rental in las vegas, paid for by the concert promoter. by april of 2009, a new routine had begun in the jackson household. ]. >> the film "this is it" prompted constant insomniac jackson working hard during rehearsals. dr. conrad murray had settled into his own routine, spending

his days in scant monica with one of his girlfriends, the mother of one of his children. >> she testified at the trial that murray was making house calls after dark. >> i remember that he would leave at around 9:00 p.m. and he would return in the morning. >> conrad murray was spending his nights as michael jackson's personal fand man. >> the usual thing is he wants to sleep. >> does he go to sleep? no, he's not able to sleep naturally. >> in an interview recorded two days after jackson died, dr. murray told lapd homicide detectives how jackson wanted his doctor at his bedside as jackson slept. >> i spent every night. >> every night. >> with the exception of the nights i was off, which was sunday. >> was it for medical reasons tore just to make him feel p better, that you spent the night? >> it was mr. jackson's request.

>> and jackson had another request of the good doctor, one that set in motion a series of events that would forever change both men, leaving only one of them to explain what had happened. . >> he said, just make me sleep. i can't function if i don't sleep. >> trouble are begins. >> he wasn't well. there was something going on nanc io nr siedo purmo dopi >> when "the last days of michael jackson" continues.

it was april 2009. michael jackson was having trouble sleeping when he made a physician, conrad murray. he wanted a drug few who work outside a hospital had ever heard of, the surgical-grade

anesthetic propofol. except this propofol wasn't to be used in an operating room. it was to be administered here, in michael jackson's bedroom, to help jackson sleep. dr. murray told police that six days a week he would give jackson propofol, letting it drip all night. >> and what is this propofol? >> it is a sedative that can also be used for anesthesia. he said, just make me sleep. i can't function if i don't sleep. >> in early may, dr. murray made a recording of his famous patient apparently talking about the upcoming tour. >> we have to be phenomenal. when people leave the show, when people leave my show, i want them to say, i've never seen nothing like this in my life.

>> it's hard to imagine any medical reason for recording jackson in that condition. police found it on dr. murray's iphone. >> i'm taking that money, a million children -- children's hospital, the biggest in the world. michael jackson children's hospital. god wants me to do it. god wants me to do it. i'm going do it, conrad. i know you would. >> that was recorded may 10th. michael jackson had a month and a half to live. rehearsals continued. a few days later, jackson saw his brother jermaine who told "dateline" about that meeting. >> we saw him may 14th. he was fine. he was laughing with his kids and playing. >> but by june, as "this is it" director kenny ortega testified

in court, jackson seemed to be falling apart. >> at some point in june 2009, were there a period of days or a week where michael was not showing up to rehearsals? >> yes. >> can you describe what you personally observed on that day, june 19, 2009? >> that my friend wasn't right, that he wasn't well. there was something going on that was deeply troubling me. >> that was just six days before the singer's death. ortega then sent concert promoters an e-mail saying he was concerned about jackson, writing, as far as i can tell, there is no one takeing responsibility caring for him on a daily basis. tonight i was feeding him, wrapping him in blankets to warm his chills, massaging his feed to calm him, and calling his doctor. we don't know if it was pressure from ortega to help jackson or murray's own idea, but dr. murray told the lapd it was

at around that time that he decided jackson should stop using propofol, which murray had been giving the star regularly since april. >> 30 days a month roughly every day. >> a daily thing. >> a daily, with the exception of three days leading up to his death. i tried to wean him off. >> okay. >> that medication. >> the film "this is it" caught jackson on one of his last two nights. director kenny ortega said that on those nights there waez a dramatic change in the star. >> he entered into rehearsal full of energy, full of desire to work, full of enthusiasm, and it was a different michael. >> he was a changed man. he hadn't had propofol for two days.

but on june 25th he would again, for the last time. michael jackson's last day was about to begin. >> paris was balled up and prince was standing there slowly crying. >> panic at the mansion, and the children are caught up in it all. what rlleahaenenedthppe id at dr be w m,"doon linse "continues. dogs wake up too early! you know what else is early? medicare open enrollment. now through december 7th. can i stick with my old medicare plan? sure! or find a new plan with better coverage, less cost, or both. medicare plans give you free cancer screenings and wellness visits and 50% off on brand-name prescriptions when you're in the doughnut hole. it's part of the healthcare law. so it's time to look, compare... and choose the right plan for you. learn more at 1-800-medicare or medicare.gov. [ female announcer ] instantly smooth wrinkles with a shot? wait a second... with olay challenge that. new regenerist wrinkle revolution...

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as june 25th, jackson left rehearsal at the staples center

just after midnight. it was to be his last night on earth. security camera footage at jackson's mansion shows murray's bmw pulling through the gates at exactly 12:50 a.m. jackson's entourage arrives nine minutes later. even at that late hour, fans gathered at the gate to catch a glimpse and pay homage. jackson's personal assistant would later testify that his boss was full of energy after a successful rehearsal. >> he wanted to stop and say hi. i remember he held a small conversation with the fans. he was in great spirits. >> the star collected some gifts from the fans and then headed into his rented home, which was decorated in a sort of chaotic imperm nance. boxes can be seen scattered across the floor in the bedroom, the bed was prepped with an

oxygen tank and i.v. stand. prosecutors would later argue that what's significant is what wasn't there. nothing to sound an alarm if jackson's heartbeat and breathing were in danger and nothing to restart his vital functions if something went wrong. this is where dra dr. murray said he was waiting for jackson, where they had a conversation murray later recounted to the hapd. >> i said, how was your day? are you fine? how are you feeling? and he says, tired and fatigued. >> murray said jackson showered and changed and then the doctored said he started an i.v. line in jackson's leg to give his fluids to help him sleep. murray told the lapd at the start he gave jackson only a 10 milligram tablet of the anti-anxiety medication valium. >> he took a valium. one pill. 10 milligram. orally then -- >> a half hour later, murray said jackson was not sleeping

and he wasn't happy about not sleeping. murray says he moved to an intravenous dose of another anti-anxiety drug called lorazepam lorazepam. >> he was still wide awake. he continued to complain. >> at 3:00 a.m., murray said he tried another sedative called midazolam and he urged jackson to meditate. >> and 4:00 came and 4:00 went, and he still was awake. and then he complained, i got to sleep, dr. conrad. i have these rehearsals to perform. i must be ready for this show in england. >> murray says he tried another round of the anti-anxiety medications, but dawn came and jackson was still awake. murray gave the singer more of the sedative. it didn't work.

and murray said jackson was complaining, worrying and pressuring dr. murray for the drug he really wanted, the one he called milk, propofol. >> he said, please, please give me some milk so that i can sleep. because i know this is the only thing that really works for me. >> and murray agreed. he told the lapd he started a propofol drip with half the amount he had been starting jackson on previously, just 25 milligrams. and, finally, after a long night and at least four different drugs, michael jackson was asleep. it was 10:40 in the morning, murray told police. he said he then watched his famous patient for about ten minutes. he checked the singer's vital signs. and then, seeing jackson was doing okay, he left the room, he said, for about two minutes. that's what murray told police, but was it the truth? testing, e-mailing and chatting on the phone throughout the

morning. at 10:34, when according to murray's account, jackson would have been on propofol or maybe asking for it, murray was on the phone with his office manager stacy ruggles who was taking down dictation. dr. murray was paying attention during that time. >> yes. >> he didn't seem distracted? >> no. >> shouldn't he have sounded distracted since he was at that point by his own admission monitoring a man under anesthesia. >> i watched the man rescue people who were dying and he wasn't distracted. he was quite focused. >> you think dr. murray is quite capable of monitoring a person on anesthesia and simultaneously dictating a letter for you to type. >> yes. >> and as he took care of michael jackson, he was apparently thinking about more than his famous patient. earlier he had texted a dancer he knew from a las vegas club. shortly after 11:00, he sent an

e-mail for the insurance company for the concert tour, assuring them in response to a question that michael jackson was in good health. then dr. murray called his office at 11:18 and later at 11:49 he left this message for a patient. >> this is dr. murray for bob. hi, how are you? >> then at 11:51, murray got on the phone with a cocktail pate tress he had only recently met at a houston steak house. she told the court about five minutes into the call, she realized that dr. conrad murray was no longer paying attention to her. >> just talking and the next thing you knew, i said, hello? hello? and i didn't hear anything. >> investigators believe it was at that moment when dr. murray vanished from that phone call that he noticed that michael jackson had stopped breathing. and "noticed" is the right word because there was no monitoring equipment set p up to sound an alarm to tell dr. murray his patient was in distress.

prosecutors say when with the doctor did see it, he didn't have the medical equipment necessary to rapidly get oxygen into jackson's lungs the way a hospital would. so he gave cpr, and he did mouth mouth. but it wasn't enough. at 12:12, dr. murray called not 911 but jackson's assistant and left this message. >> it's dr. murray. please call me right away. thank you. >> no mention of an emergency. when the assistant called back, dr. murray asked to have security sent up. again, nothing about an emergency. security guards send raheem mohammed and alberto alvarez who got there shortly after 12:15, described a frantic scene that jackson's children witnessed. >> i realized that his children were standing outside of his room. of course in a panicked state as well. paris was on the ground balled up crying, and prince was

just -- he was standing there and he was just -- he just had a real shocked -- just slowly crying type of look on his face. >> dr. murray, they said, was doing cpr on his own, and he was distressed. >> he appeared very nervous. he was on his side. he was sweaty. >> he instructed me to give chest compressions. he was giving mouth to mouth. after a couple or a few breaths that he would breathe into mr. jackson, he came up and said, this is the first time i do mouth to mouth, but i have to. he's my friend. >> the focus was about to shift from whatever dr. murray had or hadn't done to what he was about to do. . >> he grabbed a handful of vials and said, here, put these in a bag. >> did the doctor have something to hide? the questions begin. >> i noticed his behavior. i said, something's wrong. >> when "the l ot ys

michael jackson" continues. i nev did ait because i felt like okay this is not life threamaybe i just need to sip a certain way. or eat something a certain way. until i went to the dentist one day. meavso the dsttisee avn tsonedydynenoothpaste. once i tried sensodyne and kept using it i realized okay this really works. i have stopped using sensodyne in the past for like a week. and then i would notice slowly but surely that same sensitivity would start coming back. i said let me go back to using the sensodyne. this one is a keeper. s, hearty pasta stuffed with a blend of italian cheeses. for just $11.95 try them with grilled chicken in a roasted garlic alfredo. or for just $9.95 try them with sausage in tomato alfredo. at olive garden. [ female announcer ] this week at jcpenney, we're making our best brands extra affordable and with jcpcash we're giving you $10 off when you spend just $25. so you can find style that's a step above, all for a lot less. we make style affordable. you make it yours. jcpenney.

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. when with security guard alberto alvarez arrived in his boss' bedroom, dr. murray was already doing cpr on michael jackson. >> when he saw me, he said, alberto, come, come quick! >> e.r. doctors will tell you that getting rapid emergency care can be critical, as each minute ticks away, the likelihood of survival decreases. dr. murray must have known that, but did dr. murray have other things on his mind? was dr. murray more interested in saving his patient or saving had himself? >> he reached over and grabbed a handful of vials and then he reached out to me and said, here, put these in a bag. >> alvarez testified that just before murray asked him to place that call to 911, murray

directed alvarez to help clean up the scene in jackson's bedroom, telling him to get rid of a saline bag on the i.v. stand. >> it was at my eye level and i was able to notice that at the bottom of the bag there was what appeared to me like a milky white substance, sir. >> prosecutors say that was propofol. then, finally, at 12:21, alvarez says murray told him to call 911. >> he's unconscious, he's not breathing? >> yes, he's not breathing, sir. >> paramedics reached michael jackson's side at 12:26. paramedic richard senef. >> did you ask dr. murray how long the patient had been in this condition? >> i did ask him that. >> what did dr. murray say in to that question? >> it just happened right when i called you. >> meaning five minutes eerl, not the nearly 30 minutes murray's phone records showed

had past since the houston cocktail waitress noticed the drr wasn't answering her. the paramedic told the court that when he arrived on scene, jackson was blue and cool to the touch. he hooked up an electrocardio gram, jackson was flatlining. being down only five minutes didn't make sense to the paramedic, who pressed the doctor about more information about jackson. >> i asked what his underlying health condition was. he said, nothing, he has nothing. simply, that did not add up to me. >> then senef asked murray if jackson was using any drugs. >> at that point, he said no he's not taking anything. and then he followed that up with, i just gave him a little bit of lorazepam to sleep. >> senef says murray didn't mention the valium, the midazolam and most creditly didn't mention the propofol. the ambulance arrived at the ucla medical center at 1:13 in the afternoon.

that's dr. murray in the white shirt at the hospital, where according to e.r. doctors he again did not mention propofol. >> were you ever told at any point in time about any medications by conrad murray other than the lorazepam? >> no. >> murray pushed the e.r. doctors to keep trying to revive jackson. a ucla cardiologist was brought in to help. she also asked murray what had happened. he told her about the lorazepam, nothing else. she asked dr. murray what time he had given jackson the drugs. >> he said he didn't know. then i asked him what happened next. he said -- he left but when he returned he saw that the patient was not breathing. and i asked him, from the time he found that the patient was down, what was the time that 911 was called? and he couldn't remember that either. he said he did not have any concept of time. he did not have a watch. >> but only two days later,

dr. murray would tell lapd detectives specifically that he was wearing a watch that day. he outlined what drugs were given to jackson in what doses and at what times, despite parent never having made or retained any written records of his treatment of michael jackson. at 2:26 on the afternoon of june 25, 2009, michael jackson was pronounced dead at the age of 50. stacy ruggles says that when she reached dr. murray at the hospital, he was very upset. >> and he was sobbing on the phone. sobbing. he says, i've lost my best friend. >> what else did he tell you about that day? >> that he was the one that wanted to notify the family. >> but in an interview with "dateline," jackson's brother jermaine says that notification never happened. dr. murray, that day in the hospital, did he say anything to you? did he express his condolences

or sorrow? >> no. he didn't say anything to me. >> after your brother died, dr. murray is quoted as saying, i feel like i've lost my best friend. >> really? first time i saw dr. murray was in the hospital when i got the news that michael had passed. and i didn't know who he was when he walked in, but i noticed his behavior. for someone who said they lost their best friend, they would how d he act? >> he was doing this, fidgeting and looking around. i said, something's wrong. >> and of course there was something wrong. michael jackson was dead. dr. murray had to know some serious scrutiny was coming. >> michael didn't want to die. he just wanteded to sleep. he had problems with sleeping. >> jermaine jackson writes about seeing his brother that day in this new book. >> he was laying there on this gurney, just lifeless. so i walked in and i rubbed his head. his head was still soft, his forehead, and i pulled his

eyelids back just to look in his eyes one more time, just -- so emotional to see your brother lifeless. i noticed his body was just doed. i just told him i loved him and i'm going to miss him a lot. >> the los angeles county coroner's office ruled that michael jackson died from acute propofol intoxication. but who gave jackson the fatal dose? was it dr. murray? or the singer himself? >> he said, can you find me someone? >> snunomeone who will give him the drug. >> yes. >> he said, i will pay them whatever i want. >> had michael jackson used propofol before? >> iwas given to him by other doctors. like this. [ mumbles ] mommy taught me bunny ears. ♪ ♪ [ laughter ] try this. good job. ♪ ♪ goodnight

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. this is it. i mean, this is really it. this is the final curtain call. >> michael jackson was gone. what remained were the questions about what role dr. conrad murray might have played in jackson's death. at a houston church, dr. murray cast himself simply as unlucky. >> i was in the wrong place at the wrong time. >> prosecutors presented testimony that murray kept jackson's use of propofol a secret when he spoke with paramedics and e.r. doctors, but two days after that, murray sat down with lapd detectives and, in that conversation, he spoke openly about propofol, making it

a point saying using propofol was jackson's idea. the singer referred to the white-colored anesthetic as his milk. >> the first time that milk was used on him had, was it your idea, or was it his idea? >> his. his. >> and murray said his famous patient absolutely knew the risks. >> he explained to me that he had taken it multiple times. he used it frequently on these tours. it was given to him by multiple other doctors. >> it was the beginning of what would become murray's defense, that jackson gave himself the fatal dose. >> michael jackson self-administered a dose of propofol that, with the lorazepam, created a perfect storm in his body that killed him instantly. >> according to murray's

lawyers, jackson did it because he was so desperate to sleep, suffering they said from withdrawal from demerol, which had been prescribed by another doctor. jackson's problems with the narcotic demerol had been no secret. he had written a song about it. ♪ demerol ♪ jackson had even gone through drug rehab in 1993 because of his dependence with painkillers. >> in an interview with "dateline," stacy ruggles, dr. murray's office manager, said she nor dr. murray knew anything about jackson's drug history and if murray had known he never would have taken the job. >> dr. murray did not know this man was an addict when he took the job. i don't know that dr. murray knew that michael jackson was using propofol prior to him coming on board. >> i think that's quite plausible. i guess the question is, once he

came on board and once he found out that mr. jackson was using propofol, what did he do? >> we don't know when he found out he was using propofol. >> but he clearly knew after he began working for jackson. on april 6th, murray ordered 35 bottles of propofol from a las vegas pharmacy. by late june, murray had ordered more than four gallons of the drug. jackson, said the defense, was a star who was used to getting what he wanted. abdomen what and what he wanted was propofol, administered to him in his bedroom, at bedtime. nurse cherilyn lee testified for the defense that jackson was desperate to get a medical professional who would give him propofol. >> i said, well, no doctor is go going do this at your house. >> in 2009, lee told me jackson made clear to her that money was no object. >> can you find me someone? i will pay them whatever they want. can you please find me someone

because i need to get some rest. >> someone who will give him the drug. >> yes. he said, i'll pay them whatever they want. >> she says she explained to jackson that the drug was dangerous. >> i said, this is a very serious medication. i said, you keep telling me you want to be knocked out to go to sleep. the problem is being knocked out to go to sleep, you may not wake up. >> the defense argument is that michael jackson refused to take no for an answer. so when dr. murray finally tried to wean him off the dose by rugs the dose, jackson simply waited until murray wasn't looking and then gave himself the dose ablg he wanted. in the interview with lapd, murray said jackson knew how to inject propofol into his i.v. line. murray referred to it as infusing and pushing. other doctors he said had let jackson do it in the past. >> he had said to me that the

doctors allowed him to infuse it himself. and i refused him that opportunity. and he asked me, why would you -- why don't you want me to push it? i love to push it. it makes me feel great. >> even if murray is telling the truth, it leaves open a question -- should a doctor have left a patient alone in the room with the drug a patient was demanding? three days after jackson died, murray's attorney told me that the doctor left the room only briefly for a bathroom break and that, when he returned, he found jackson was in distress. >> he went in to check on michael jackson and observed that he was not breathing. so the doctor felt, made sure he was still warm, he was. he checked for a pulse, found a weak pulse, and then proceeded after verifying that he was still not breathing, started giving him cpr. >> in that version, jackson was warm, he had a pulse, he was

still alive. by trial, chernoff was telling the jury something completely different, that when dr. murray found jackson he was beyond help. >> when dr. murray came into the room and found michael jackson, there was no cpr, there was no doctor, there was no paramedic, no machine that was going to revive michael jackson. he died so rapidly, so instantly, he didn't even have time to close his eyes. >> the coroner's office ruled that jackson died from an overdose of propofol along with other sedatives. one prosecution expert testified that jackson had 40 times the amount of propofol in his blood than dr. murray admitted giveing him and that it would be impossible for jackson to self-administer such a large

dose. the defense called its own expert saying the evidence was more consistent with jackson injecting had inging himself. >> so you think it was a self-injection of propofol near the hours between 11:30 and 12:00 that did it? >> in my opinion, yes. >> michael jackson had been given propofol night after night, and he had woken up morning after morning. except for one. >> the wrong place at the wrong time. i'll leave that to the lord. it's my brother, my blood. he's no longer here, and we want to see justice. >> this extraordinary case of doctor and patient. the wait for a verdict begins.

and coming up next friday on "dateline," crossing the line. two loving families, one deadly crash. >> my whole world just came out from underneath me. >> but this story of a tragic accident was about to take a shocking turn. >> the last thing i wanted was to have to treat it as a homicide. >> was all of this misery the result of murder? an accusation no one saw coming. >> i couldn't deal with it. >> a trial in a torment town. >> you took him. you did it. >> and a verdict that would shake them all.

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we've seen afive weeks of testimony, 39 witnesses, 330 courtroom exhibits. >> just want to first thank each and every one of you for service in this case. >> in his closing, prosecutor david wall grown said that

evidence points straight at dr. conrad murray. >> ladies and gentlemen, the evidence in this case is overwhelmingly, abundantly clear that conrad murray acted with criminal negligence, that conrad murray caused the death of michael jackson. >> showing photos of jackson's three children, walgren said they no longer have a father because dr. murray gave him so much propofol and too little attention. >> this is not just kind of a deviation or an error in judgment. this is criminal, gross negligence,ed administered an agent that causes respiratory failure if not used properly, that causes death. this has never been seen before. this is bizarre, unethical, unconscionable behavior. >> walgren took the jury on a tour of the evidence, how murray, he said, agreed to give jackson a dangerous drug for an off-label use, then abandoned

the star to text and talk on the phone, and that when jackson was stricken, murray's actions show he was thinking first of his own reputation and possible exposure. >> the fact that conrad murray would not tell the paramedics that he administered propofol and had been administering propofol for over two months, that is consciousness of guilt. that is conrad murray knowing full well what caused michael's death. that is conrad murray not putting the patient first. that is conrad murray putting conrad murray first. >> justice, he said, demands a guilty verdict. >> conrad murray's actions directly caused the death of michael jackson. >> the defense will permit its argument. mr. chernoff? >> thank you. >> for his part, defense attorney ed chernoff said there was no proof a crime had occurred. >> they want you to convict

dr. murray for the actions of michael jackson. they just don't want to tell you that. >> security guard alberto alvarez testified that murray asked him to clean p up the scene before calling 911. chernoff argued that alvarez just wants to tell a story that he can sell. >> do you honestly believe that alberto alvarez is not going to cash in? honestly? >> and he said dr. murray is being held to a higher standard because of who his patient was. >> somebody's got to say it. somebody's got to tell the truth. if it were anybody else but michael jackson, anybody else, this would doctor be here today? >> there's this tremendous desire to paint dr. murray as a villain, they want to paint a perfect villain and perfect victim, as if we're in a

television show and we're going to break for commercial and want to feel good about the movie as it ends. there's no perfect villain and there's no perfect victim. >> now it's p aes's up to a jury of seven men and five women to sort that out. members of the jackson family have attended every day of the trial. earlier this year, janet jackson explained why to meredith vierra. >> it's my brother. it's my blood. he's no longer here because of x, y and z. we want to see justice. >> linda deutsche of the associated press has been watching this case and this jury from the beginning. >> this jury has been the most engaged and the most attentive i think of any jury i've ever seen. none of them have wavered in their attention. none of them have been looking at the ceiling or looking away. >> he's a good man, dr. conrad murray.

>> as the assembled supporters of both side wait for a verdict, 12 jurors suddenly have something in common with the doctor whose fate is in had their hands. like the other players in this courtroom drama. they've been taken out of their regularly scheduled lives and pulled into the orbit of the star system surrounding michael jackson. and now the whole world's eyes are on them. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." we want to remind you to tune in to "rock center" with brian williams this coming monday at 10:00/9:00 central. we'll see you next friday for they want change and fast. what would happen if the occupy movement got its way. plus, why he has t